Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Mini-update mid-February - Big Year 2017

Hi readers! It's been a little while since I last posted because I have been travelling nearly non-stop! Since mid January I have been to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for a week and a half, Thunder Bay and Cochrane Districts, and Algonquin Park for a whole bunch of high quality birding! I believe my Ontario year list is at about 115 species as of today, and I've seen nearly all of the expected specialty winter species! I've met some great people in my travels, and shared some great time with good friends. Expect to see a few blog posts soon about my adventures in the last few weeks! In the mean time, good birding, and if you'd like to help me out please consider sharing sightings with me of rarities that are not publicized. Like with the many owls species I have seen this year, I will not let people know about birds hidden on private property that home owners prefer to keep private, nor will I publicize the locations of any sensitive species. A successful Big Year is a team effort, and I greatly appreciate the support that my friends and acquaintances have been sending my way! Thanks again, and I'll be posting again soon!Jeremy

It was a nice break on my way home, and believe it or not, that was my first time ever seeing Red Crossbills! I've been specifically holding out knowing I'd see them this year. I think I saw your name on an eBird alert or the sightings book at Algonquin from recently?

Hi! My name is Jeremy and I am a career bird watcher, naturalist, photographer, and tour guide from Leamington, Essex County, Ontario. I absolutely love wildlife and spend virtually all of my time immersing myself in it. I take part in quite a few citizen science and volunteering programs, and I spend a large portion of the year doing contract field biology work, mostly with Bird Studies Canada, as well as tour guiding in the Point Pelee area and across Ontario. I am a very proud member of the Vortex Optics Field Team and am a very active member in naturalist clubs like Ontario Field Ornithologists and Essex County Field Naturalists, as well as many online naturalist communities. I would love to get into guiding internationally and/or steady permanent field biology work, and I always do my best to support the birding/naturalist community and conservation in general. I am one of the only year-round resident birders in the Point Pelee area and I like to take full advantage of that opportunity!

I welcome you to follow along with my blog through 2018 as I tell the story of my record-breaking 2017 birding Big Year in Ontario!